TESTIMONIALS
We strive to provide a space where everyone can achieve their goals.
Here are a few testimonials about what we've accomplished:
One year, nine months ago, I started doing pilates with Angi at Mind Body Connection. I had suffered a year bout with plantar fascitis in both feet and had spent most of that time in a wheel chair with special orthodics and daily taping my feet. I have a lifetime of back problems, which has slowly affected my legs, shoulders, and the rest of my body. My entire body had been compensating for my back since childhood.
I had given up running, tennis and all really active activities years before that. I had been unsuccessful after years of trying to make progress with yoga.Nothing seemed to work. By nature, I am physically active so I found this state of my body totally unacceptable.
Out of pure frustration I tried pilates to see if I could heal myself through exercise. When I first started pilates I discovered that I had almost no back muscle and absolutely no abdomen muscle. As a result it was very frustrating and I could do almost nothing. I kept going, though, because I had no other alternatives for exercise except walking. Slowly, slowly I began to build some strength in my back and abdomen. It took about a year and suddenly one day I realized that I had made progress. This gave me the incentive, finally, to start enjoying myself when taking a lesson.
I am now pain free and continue to build strength and agility. Since that time I have become stronger and stronger. I can now do many of the pilates exercises correctly. My balance has improved as well as my strength and agility. I still have minor setbacks but when I do I now know what to do to help myself heal by being conscious of what muscles are needed to support my body. I have been able to support my body correctly for almost a year now.
Angi has helped me achieve this by not just using pilates but by drawing from her huge knowledge pool of different techniques as my body seemed to require them. Her broad knowledge and patience is what kept me trying an improve.She has done pilates and Yamuna Body Rolling at different times depending upon what my body needed.
Jean S.
Emeryville, CA
I've been going to Mind Body Connection for the past three years and I can say that having Angi has greatly helped me with my back. No amount of massages can make the pain in my back go away but doing 1:1 with Angi has greatly helped me. She also helped me get back my body in condition after a difficult pregnancy. (I restarted Pilates after 4 months of rest.) She has showed genuine interest in how I feel and responds accordingly by the type of exercise we do.
I also do mat classes with Janna and it has also contributed to my general well being. Janna can really see if my body is tight due to inactivity and by the end of the class, I know that I have gone through something good for my body. I feel stronger and lighter on my feet.
Overall, I would recommend this place. I wish others can see beyond the superficial aspects of the business (not having a receptionist, being overwhelmed by the living social promo etc) because Angi and Janna will really help you get your body stronger. For women, specially those who have given birth, doing Pilates will suck that tummy right back in!
Stepanie U.
Emeryville, CA
I also do mat classes with Janna and it has also contributed to my general well being. Janna can really see if my body is tight due to inactivity and by the end of the class, I know that I have gone through something good for my body. I feel stronger and lighter on my feet.
Overall, I would recommend this place. I wish others can see beyond the superficial aspects of the business (not having a receptionist, being overwhelmed by the living social promo etc) because Angi and Janna will really help you get your body stronger. For women, specially those who have given birth, doing Pilates will suck that tummy right back in!
Stepanie U.
Emeryville, CA
Angi Spector is a terrific trainer in Pilates, Gyrokinesis and Yamuna Body Rolling. I have been going to her studio for years and she and Janna (the best Pilates teacher ever) have helped me heal from back injuries and knee surgeries. They both fine tune their instruction to meet students' individual needs. You leave their sessions feeling taller, relaxed with all your bones articulated and fully integrated. I highly recommend this studio.
Felicity B.
Berkeley, CA
Felicity B.
Berkeley, CA
I am so grateful to Angi Spector at the Mind - Body Connection Studio. I first started at her studio learning Pilates. I had fallen 6 months prior, something I did every so often, and I had injured my shoulder--months of therapy had not helped. After several weeks of Pilates the instructor suggested I should work with Angi--she will help with your shoulder he said. One Yamuna Body-Logic session later, I already had more freedom in my shoulder and arm than at any previous time since my injury. I began to go to the Yamuna Body Rolling classes and now I have complete mobility in my shoulder and arm and walk better; I am much more aware of my body in space. I love the body rolling and the Gyrokinesis classes. It doesn't matter what age or shape you find yourself in; Angi will work with your individual needs even in group work. She is a keen observer of how we use our bodies, and it does not take her long to work out what you need or why something is not working correctly.
I recommend her whole heartedly.
Ruth M.
Emeryville, CA
I recommend her whole heartedly.
Ruth M.
Emeryville, CA
Where Can A 57-Year Old Gain A Body Like A 35 Year Old?
MIND-BODY CONNECTION in EMERYVILLE, CA, that's where!!!!
I've been a client at MBC for the past 5-6 years and would never even visit another pilates studio because:
1] the FACILITIES at MBC are very clean and accessible, and the EQUIPMENT is top-of-the line! The LOCATION is perfect, a hop, skip and jump from the freeway and Powell Street with free-parking!
2] the STAFF is the best! Owner Angi Spector and the personal trainers are the most knowledgeable I've ever run across in any fitness modality. Their knowledge is unparalleled. They always gear my personalized routine to exactly what my body needs and can accommodate, always challenging me, but never pushing me past my limits. Even the interns are well-trained and carefully supervised.
3] RESULTS!!! So, I'm 57, have multiple sclerosis (MS) and lead a very sedentary life as I was on a walker. I don't have a 35-year old body but my MBC TRAINERS DO!! And, like "Benjamin Buttons", I'm appearing younger to people, too. I'm definitely more flexible and have not had to use a walker for over four years! What was once my weakened posture is stronger and more upright! Of course, I'm also sculpting my body -- you know, stronger abdominals, firmer bottom!!
I can't imagine any better studio than Angi's Mind-Body Connection, and if by chance a "better" one exists, I don't need to find it!
Hunter J.
Oakland, CA
MIND-BODY CONNECTION in EMERYVILLE, CA, that's where!!!!
I've been a client at MBC for the past 5-6 years and would never even visit another pilates studio because:
1] the FACILITIES at MBC are very clean and accessible, and the EQUIPMENT is top-of-the line! The LOCATION is perfect, a hop, skip and jump from the freeway and Powell Street with free-parking!
2] the STAFF is the best! Owner Angi Spector and the personal trainers are the most knowledgeable I've ever run across in any fitness modality. Their knowledge is unparalleled. They always gear my personalized routine to exactly what my body needs and can accommodate, always challenging me, but never pushing me past my limits. Even the interns are well-trained and carefully supervised.
3] RESULTS!!! So, I'm 57, have multiple sclerosis (MS) and lead a very sedentary life as I was on a walker. I don't have a 35-year old body but my MBC TRAINERS DO!! And, like "Benjamin Buttons", I'm appearing younger to people, too. I'm definitely more flexible and have not had to use a walker for over four years! What was once my weakened posture is stronger and more upright! Of course, I'm also sculpting my body -- you know, stronger abdominals, firmer bottom!!
I can't imagine any better studio than Angi's Mind-Body Connection, and if by chance a "better" one exists, I don't need to find it!
Hunter J.
Oakland, CA
Angi literally saved my neck. I spend way too much time at my computer and when work gets stressful my shoulders go up to my ears. And then the tension ripples. When my body gets tight/out of alignment, the osteoarthritis I am normally able to control becomes extremely painful throughout my body. I called Angi during a particularly bad episode. I had been to one of her Body Rolling Workshops and was hoping she could give me the tools to control and relieve the pain myself.
I was pretty far gone and she recommended a Body Logic Session, which helped tremendously and got me out of crisis mode immediately. When I asked for an appointment for a second session she told me she would be concentrating on neck and shoulders at the next Tuesday morning body rolling class and suggested that I try that before signing up for another one-on-one. She also showed me techniques that I could do at home. Her suggestions saved me a chunk of change that could have easily gone into her pocket.
Angi is extremely knowledgeable and seems sincerely interested in teaching people how to achieve their fitness/rehab goals. I live in San Francisco and hate traveling over the bridge for anything that's available in the city, but Angi is definitely worth the trip.
CMYKdesigner d.
San Francisco, CA
I was pretty far gone and she recommended a Body Logic Session, which helped tremendously and got me out of crisis mode immediately. When I asked for an appointment for a second session she told me she would be concentrating on neck and shoulders at the next Tuesday morning body rolling class and suggested that I try that before signing up for another one-on-one. She also showed me techniques that I could do at home. Her suggestions saved me a chunk of change that could have easily gone into her pocket.
Angi is extremely knowledgeable and seems sincerely interested in teaching people how to achieve their fitness/rehab goals. I live in San Francisco and hate traveling over the bridge for anything that's available in the city, but Angi is definitely worth the trip.
CMYKdesigner d.
San Francisco, CA
This is a wonderful studio. I've been taking the Mat classes for about 2 years.The instructors are wonderful, caring and very knowledgeable. My back and shoulder problems have disappeared.When something does bother me, the studio's given me the tools to take care of myself.
I feel younger, stronger and taller. Pilates makes all other movement a breeze. I have increased energy for walking and dancing.
Jessica M.
Oakland, CA
I feel younger, stronger and taller. Pilates makes all other movement a breeze. I have increased energy for walking and dancing.
Jessica M.
Oakland, CA
There is a reason why you should train with no other studio in the Bay Area if you want to learn Pilates, Gyrotonic or Yamuna Body Rolling-the leader of the studio, Angi Spector, is certified in all of them and has been practicing and certifying for nearly two decades. You will get the tools to re-sculpt and heal your body without bullying and without cattiness. Angi is a firm but kind disciplinarian and she hires wonderful staff as well.
Max B.
Oakland, CA
Max B.
Oakland, CA